


"Picking up the pieces" - [Tom/Sebastian - One shot].

by A_Wolf, wickedsingularity



Category: British Actor RPF, Sebastian Stan - Fandom, Tom Hiddleston - Fandom, hiddlestoners
Genre: A.Wölf, Multi, Sinfulsanctuary, Tumblr: theartofimagining13
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-30
Updated: 2016-07-30
Packaged: 2018-07-27 14:59:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7623178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_Wolf/pseuds/A_Wolf, https://archiveofourown.org/users/wickedsingularity/pseuds/wickedsingularity
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based on: Imagine: When your marriage with Tom ends and you have to move out, Sebastian offers to get your things from his place and it only results in a heated argument between both men. Sebastian lets him know how stupid he was to let you go but also thanks him because you’ll be all his now.</p>
            </blockquote>





	"Picking up the pieces" - [Tom/Sebastian - One shot].

**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks to @sinfulsanctuary (on Tumblr) Sinful_sanctuary here on AO3 for writing this with me! <3

**Originally posted at** : [The Art of Imagining](http://theartofimagining13.tumblr.com/).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

* * *

 

Sebastian felt like an intruder stepping into the house that she had lived in with her husband for so many years.

The house where he had visited them while they were happily married, occasionally taking with him a girlfriend to introduce, girlfriends that never lasted beyond one visit. The house where he had seen it fall apart, and where he had learned that he perhaps cared a bit more for her than a friend should. He hadn’t seen it coming, their breakup, but had to admit that he wasn’t completely devastated, especially because she came to _him_ for comfort.

He didn’t want to be her rebound, and would not act on his feelings yet, but he would be a good friend, and when the time was right, then maybe… A good friend, was exactly what he was being today. He had offered to help her move out of the house, but the look she had gotten at the thought of setting foot in that house… He offered to do it for _her_.

Sebastian stopped for a moment in the hallway, to listen. She said Tom would be out for a few hours, most likely be at the gym, and he might meet up with a couple of friends afterwards, he usually did on Wednesdays. Hearing no one, Sebastian hurried upstairs, mentally going over the list of things she had asked him to get; clothes, obviously. Her books. If not all of them, then at least the ones in the two top rows of the bookcase in the living room, and the ones in her vintage bedside table. 

The velvet jewelry box in the second drawer on the left in the vanity. And most importantly, the old teacup her grandmother had given to her when she graduated. Her favorite teacup, it was many generations old, and she used it every day. Everything else… It just reminded her of these wasted years.

Sebastian had managed to pack up all her clothes, taking a couple of suitcases he found in a closet, thinking Tom would just have to buy new. He had found the jewelry box and the books, and had moved downstairs to find the rest of the books and the teacup, when the front door opened.

* * *

In the driveway, Tom sat still in his car for a few minutes. His mind had been too preoccupied to get any training done, so he had packed up, told his friends he wasn’t feeling too good, and driven straight home. How had he gotten himself into this mess? How had he thought he could juggle two women? One wife and one girlfriend? Where had his mind been?

He had told himself he needed to choose, he couldn’t have both, but he hadn’t been able to. Both were special in their own way. In the end, it had come back to royally bite him in the ass, and _she_ had made the decision for him. Sighing, he left his things in the car and moved to the door. It was open. His heart started beating. Burglars and thieves weren’t even on his mind. He hoped  _she_ was back. And then maybe he could talk to her and fix things.

Tom tentatively opened the door and called out. _“Hello?”_ There was no reply.  _“Sweetheart?”._ If it was her, _that_ would get her attention one way or another. Sebastian froze upon hearing Tom’s calls. While his first instinct was to hide and leave, instead, he sat the suitcase down with a deliberate loud thud, and walked into the hallway.  Tom’s eyes widened, and then narrowed dangerously.

Sebastian, pretending like the sight of Tom didn’t bother him at all, showed an innocent look as he casually put his hands inside his pockets. 

 _“Hey, man”._ He said with a slight shrug.  _“What are you doing here?"_ Tom asked.  _“I’m picking up some of her stuff”._ Sebastian kept going when Tom didn’t say a word. _“You know, just… some clothes, books, an-“_

 _“Why didn’t she come?”_ Tom asked, interrupting him.

 _“Because she doesn’t want anything to do with you, man”._ Sebastian’s tone denoted that he was enjoying every word.

 _“Did she tell you that? Why did she ask you anyway?”_ Tom inquired with evident irritation building up within him.

 _“Uh, I don’t know, Tom… maybe because I’m her friend?”_  

Each question and answer seemed to be escalating and becoming sheer spitefulness between the two of them. _“Is that a problem?”_ Sebastian added raising his eyebrows. Tom took a deep breath, trying to shake the anger before answering, _“I guess not. I just don’t appreciate her handing the keys to our house to someone so easily”._

The British man’s words almost set the Romanian man on fire, perhaps he was taking it too personally but he found a subtext to Tom’s statement; an implication that he might steal or do something wrong while being in their house. Sebastian was ready to spew venom out,

 _“Well, someone’s gotta pick up the pieces from the marriage_ you  _screwed up.”_

Tom took a step forward, getting closer to Sebastian and standing tall.

 _“What did you say?”_ He asked between gritted teeth.

 _“You heard me, dick”._ Sebastian said challenging him.

Tom was glaring at him but his fury turned into a sarcastic chuckle as he rolled his eyes and looked away, having an epiphany.

_“Oh, Sebastian… you think you’re finally getting an opportunity, don’t you? You’ve been in love with my wife for years. Pathetic.”_

Sebastian returned the exact same sarcastic chuckle and also took a step forward in an intimidating manner, even though he had to slightly tilt his head back to look up at Tom.

“ _Pathetic? …You got to marry an amazing and loving woman and you did everything in your power to destroy it. So you, pal…”_ Sebastian said placing a warning hand on Tom’s shoulder and pushing him away. _“…Are pathetic”._

Tom’s eyes were flaring, his heart was beating fast and not for the right reasons. Then Sebastian had to give the coup de grâce,

 _“Yeah, you’re right. I am in love with your ex-wife”_ he said emphasizing the _“ex”.“And maybe… she feels the same way because she came to me and now she sleeps in my bed.”_

Sebastian showed a proud smile but it faded too soon when Tom punched him in the face.

 _“You miserable prick”_ Tom snarled caressing his knuckles. Sebastian regained his composure in no time and threw a right hook that would leave a bruise on the corner of Tom’s mouth.

Soon, the two men wrestled each other knocking things over around the house. Any trace of friendship was forgotten because of her. She was the only thing that united them somehow, but it was the time to take sides.

 _“Tom!”_ a woman yelled as soon as she entered the house and witnessed the brawl. They ignored her. _“Stop!”_ she said approaching them and being brave enough to try to break them apart but Sebastian ended up accidentally elbowing her in the chest, causing her to stumble and hit the ground. 

Both men stopped all of a sudden with widened eyes. Tom pushed Sebastian away and rushed to her side.

Sebastian finally looked at her and recognized her; Tom’s lover and the cause of divorce. A woman that couldn’t ever be compared to _her_ and yet Tom had chosen, to break his wife’s heart.

 _“It was an accident”._ He said in a rush as Tom helped her up.

 _“Get out of my hous_ e”. Tom exclaimed, scowling at him, and with an arm around a scared woman’s waist.

Sebastian grudgingly grabbed the only suitcase left and walked out of there, heading towards his car.

* * *

 _“What happened?”_ She asked with a worried tone as soon as Sebastian walked into the bedroom. She took off her glasses, placed the laptop on the bed, and sat up ready to completely ignore her work once she noticed her friend’s black eye.

 _“Occupational hazards”_ he said with a side smirk as he left the suitcases on the floor. _“Sebastian…”_ she said demandingly. He sighed and sat next to her. _“Can we not talk about it? I got your things”._

He saw her standing up and leaving, only to return with a bag of frozen strawberries. She handed it to him _. “Spit it out. Now.”_

Sebastian held the bag against his face to chill his bruising eye. _“I might’ve pissed off your ex-husband”_ he said in a quiet tone. She was in genuine disbelief. _“He did this to you?”_. Before he answered, she grabbed her cell phone from the nightstand but Sebastian took it away knowing her intentions.  _“It’s not worth it.”_ He reassured her. 

_“Tom is not a violent man, Sebastian. What happened?”_

He stared at her but she crossed her arms above her chest, and he knew she wouldn’t let it go. _“I said you were sleeping in my bed”._ She wanted to be mad at him, but the sight of him with a black eye and a bag of frozen fruit made her bite her lip trying not to laugh, in vain. He was happy to see her like that, she hadn’t laughed in weeks. _“Oh you think this is funny?”_ He asked pretending to be offended.

_“Unless you clarified you’ve been sleeping on the couch, you deserved that”._

_“You see… I didn’t have time to clarify”._ He said playfully.

 _“You, Sebastian, are an enormous bastard”_.

_“Actually I am, I accidentally hit his girlfriend and she fell”._

She couldn’t help but feel sick as soon as he mentioned her, but the feeling couldn’t last after processing the complete sentence. _“You hit her?”_

_“She tried to break us apart and got in the way”._

She raised her eyebrows and stared at her suitcases taking a deep breath. _“Can’t say I feel bad for her.”_ she finally said.

 _“Oh, I never apologized. I just said it was an accident”._ He confessed with a shrug.

She giggled and walked towards the kitchen again. _“I’m going to give you some painkillers and we’re going to have to keep a few spoons in the refrigerator so you can apply them during the day”._

Sebastian took the pills with a glass of water. He couldn’t stop staring at her and a warm feeling invaded him since the woman he loved was taking care of him. _“Let me see”_ she said taking the bag and leaning closer to him to get a good look at his bruise. She slightly brushed her fingertips against it to remove a bit of crushed ice that had stuck to his skin and he gasped in pain. 

_“I’m so sorry, Seb. This is all my fault”._

His blue eyes were staring deep into hers. _“Don’t say that. It’s not like he doesn’t have a nasty bruise on his mouth. And I’d do it all over again”._

She had never felt this way before, her heart was accelerating while looking at her friend. Maybe it was his vulnerability at the moment or the brave action for her sake that made her stop thinking and just act. As if they were synchronized, they both leaned in slowly and he pressed his lips against hers.

He ignored the pain as he deepened the kiss by putting his right hand on the back of her neck, but she gently pulled away. _“I’m sorry I…”_ she mumbled closing her eyes and shaking her head. Sebastian pulled her in for another kiss, knowing that she was already overthinking. _“I don’t want to stop. Do you?”_ He asked.

 _“You’re letting me stay here and this could complicate everything”_ she said. Sebastian cupped her face in his hands to make eye contact. _“But it feels right, doesn’t it?”._ His question caught her off guard and at the same time it eased her mind. It felt right. She had never imagined something like that could happen between them, yet it had, so organically.

 _“I will never understand how that… asshole could do what he did to you. If you were mine, I’d be the happiest man on earth. For years, I’ve wanted nothing mor-“._ Sebastian trailed off when he realized he was saying too much but it was too late, she understood.

He was looking for the right words in the midst of a long moment of silence but he just blurted out, _“I can make you happy”._

She leaned in again and the moment escalated until they started taking their clothes off.

It was a moment Sebastian had been longing for, and something that had never crossed her mind but it still felt natural to be naked in each other’s arms. He made love to her for the first time with a black eye that perhaps warned them both that there would be a part of the past that would never leave. The bruise would fade but the pain would be remembered. 

* * *

A couple weeks later, a sudden turn of events confirmed it when she looked at her third positive pregnancy test.

* * *

 _“I’m 5 weeks pregnant, Sebastian”._ She said, fearing she’d hear his heart breaking into a million pieces. _“It’s Tom’s”._

There was a ringing silence. Sebastian’s expression had gone from elated to devastated to completely dead in a matter of two seconds. Only the clenching of his jaw, told her what was going on behind those stormy eyes.

 _“How –?”_ he began, unable to finish. 

_“Well, every once in a while, when a woman and a man is naked –”_

_“Yeah, yeah, I don’t need the mental picture_!” he snapped and threw his hands in the air, turning his back to her, needing to pull himself together.

He didn’t say anything for a few grueling long moments; she could only see the controlled movements of his shoulders, as he breathed deeply. _“Are you go- Are you…”_ His voice faltered, and it broke her heart, far more than when she found out about Tom cheating on her with that little wench.

She walked towards him and gently put her hand on his back, slowly stroking. _“I want to keep it. I will keep it.”_

 _“A-and… him? Are you -”_ He couldn’t even finish that.

Taking a deep breath, she walked around and faced him, her hand sliding around to rest on his chest. There were tears in his eyes as he avoided looking at her, and he was grinding his teeth. Having known him for so long, she could tell what he was thinking. And in these short few weeks that they had been involved, she had grown to care for him so much so quickly, that she knew she needed to bring his smile back.

_“I’m not going back to Tom.”_

His eyes snapped to hers.

 _“I’m going to keep the baby, but I’m not going back to Tom.”_ Her hand dropped and she looked down at the floor between them. _“With the way he treated me, I don’t want this baby to have that familial contact with him. He will never find out that this is his. I’m going to raise it on my own.”_

Sebastian blinked, and shook his head slowly. _“No, you’re not.”_

 _“What?”_ It was her turn to snap her eyes to his.

 _“You’re not going to raise it on your own.”_ His voice was steadier, but still emotional. Immediately, she saw red. _“You’re telling me to go back to him?! After everything?”_ She went off on a tirade about Tom and his shortcomings and her arms gestured wildly.

Sebastian was sure he saw sparks flying around her head. And hearing her, this passionate about not wanting Tom, made him smile fondly. He grabbed her wrists to keep them steady, to stop them from punching at him, like he knew she was about to. “ _That’s not what I’m saying!_ ” he spoke loud enough to drown her out. _“Listen, babe! Let me finish!”_

She grudgingly closed her mouth, but her lips were thin and her eyes warned about the danger lurking right under the surface.

 _“Will you let me finish?”_. She nodded. “You’re _not going to raise this baby on your own. Because, as far as I’m concerned and… if you want me, that baby is mine. Ours.”_ Sebastian pulled her towards him by her wrists, holding them to his chest. He looked down into her face, her eyes wide and brimming with sudden tears _. “You know how I feel about you, and I’m guessing you’re getting there too. So if you’ll let me, I want to take care of you both, for as long as you want me.”_

* * *

6 months had gone by as the baby kept growing inside of her.

Sebastian was taking care of her as promised. As if he was the real father. But destiny hadn’t given her and the ex-husband closure. 

She and Sebastian had gone to the supermarket that evening when the inevitable happened.

She was wandering through the aisles when her eyes landed on Tom. He had a bottle of wine in his right hand and he was adjusting his glasses to read the label. She froze but her mind was racing, trying to come up with an escape plan but it was too late.

Tom looked at her out of the corner of his eye and did a double take when it dawned on him. They stared at each other and it wasn’t until she started walking towards him, that he noticed her belly. His lips parted in surprise but he tried not to show it and put the wine bottle back in the shelf to hide his face for mere seconds. Then, he faced her with a warm and demure smile. Their marriage had ended, but it didn’t mean that the love they once had for one another had faded completely; it would always be there, perhaps translated into diplomacy.

 _“Something tells me you shouldn’t be in this particular isle”_ Tom said breaking the ice and making her chuckle _. “I’m just passing through”_ she said with a smile. He couldn’t help but stare at her stomach. _“May i?”_ He asked raising his eyebrows and looking as if he didn’t want to offend her. She nodded. As soon as Tom put his hands on her belly, her heart raced. The secret she was keeping suddenly felt heavier on her shoulders.

 _“How far along are you?”_ he asked without making eye contact. She swallowed hard before answering, _“7 months”._ Tom furrowed his eyebrows slightly. She knew he was counting in his mind. He removed his hands from her belly and finally gazed into her eyes. Her blood ran cold for a second when she couldn’t read his expression and thought he had figured it out _. “You look beautiful”_ He finally said as she did everything in her power to remember how to breathe again.

Sebastian’s heartbeat faltered when he found his girlfriend and her ex-husband staring lovingly at each other. Even though he had reassured him a number of times that she would never get back with Tom, he was still paranoid; he just didn’t want to lose her and that baby he already loved as _his._

Tom’s smile faded when he saw Sebastian standing next to her and putting his arm around her. The two men just nodded at each other. _“It was good seeing you, Tom”_ she said, and Sebastian felt relieved. They turned around and walked away but stopped when they heard Tom’s voice once more. 

 _“Sebastian,”_ he called out. He faced Tom, slightly narrowing his eyes and not knowing what to expect _. “Take good care of her”_ he said. Sebastian’s expression softened and he gave a single nod saying, _“I will”._

Tom watched them walk away, pondering on the timeline and the possibility of it being his child. But then he thought it was just his regretful actions messing with his head. They had talked about having children when they were still together but it ended too soon. And now, he was just realizing that he’d never have that with her.

She and Sebastian walked out of the supermarket and got in the car. She smiled to herself as she caressed her belly. Tom had played a big part in her life and he would always be there through her child, but Sebastian would always be the father.

 


End file.
